mezzanine

Puthandu Vazhthukkal - Happy Tamil New Year.

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 20:18:00 -0400

TW: image containing depiction of executions below.

This Tamil New Year began with Australia continuing its unwavering support for the Sri Lankan state by:

planning to attend the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Sri Lanka in the face of evidence of war crimes, mass rape, torture and disappearance of Tamils by the Sri Lankan state which continues to this day.
deporting survivors of torture back to the Sri Lankan state actors that tortured them to begin with
indefinitely detaining Tamil men, women and children within its own borders with no date of release
locking up those fleeing the Sri Lankan state in order to continue the mental and physical torture that Sri Lanka is physically unable to do because of mere geographic distance.

This Tamil New Year also began with 25 members of our community in Australia heading into their second week of hunger strikes in protest of their ongoing, indefinite detention by the Australian state. They have been forced into undertaking such a protest because of the violence of the Australian border regime which works in tandem and alongside Sri Lanka and its domestic interests. I am in awe of the actions of these men, who have endured so much both in Sri Lanka and in Australia. I stand in awe of the daily resistance to Australian and Sri Lankan state terror that all those locked up in detention undertake.

Puthandu Vazhthukkal - Happy New Year

This year, let us remember that none of us are free until we are all free.

To find out more about the hunger strike and to support, click here.

Image is a painting produced by refugees on hunger strike in the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation detention centre. April, 2013.

"Thatcher described Nelson Mandela as a ‘terrorist.’ I was there. I saw her lips move. May she burn..."

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:27:44 -0400

“Thatcher described Nelson Mandela as a ‘terrorist.’ I was there. I saw her lips move. May she burn in the hellfires.”

- George Galloway, British M.P. (via fuckyeahmarxismleninism)

^^^

(via deafmuslimpunx)

At least someone is being honest.

(via smidgetz)

Thatcher was Europe’s Reagan. Reagan and the US government officially considered Nelson Mandela a terrorist too, including Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. That whole clique was supportive of South African apartheid, for the obvious reason that they supported (and still support) white supremacist imperialism and the subjugation and exploitation of Africa, South America, and Asia.

They were the architects of the corporatized neo-colonialism which dominates much of the world today. They believed principally in (1) destroying social services for “welfare queens”, (2) shifting all of society’s energy into military weaponry instead, and (3) banks. Those three values continue to define a lot of US and British politics.

I was 11 years old when Thatcher waged war against Argentina to maintain British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina. I remember watching bombs falling and ships on fire sinking on the evening news. The British military operation was actually codenamed Operation Corporate. The war lasted 74 days before Argentina surrendered. Britain maintains sovereignty of the Falkland Islands to this day. We continue to live in a Thatcher-Reagan world and the sooner that goes away, the better.

(via zuky)

"I asked a young White woman why she was studying social anthropology. She replied that she was..."

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:10:40 -0400

“I asked a young White woman why she was studying social anthropology. She replied that she was hoping to go to Zimbabwe, and felt that she could help women there by advising them how to organize. The Black women in the audience gasped in astonishment. Here was someone scarcely past girlhood, who had just started university and had never fought a war in her life. She was planning to go to Africa to teach female veterans of a liberation struggle how to organize! This is the kind of arrogant, if not absurd attitude we encounter repeatedly. It makes one think: Better the distant armchair anthropologists than these ‘sisters’.”

- African feminist Ifi Amadiume

(via newwavefeminism)

white people, stay the fuck out of Africa

(via thisiswhiteculture)

White people, stay the fuck out of Africa

White people, stay the fuck out of Africa

WHITE PEOPLE, STAY THE FUCK OUT OF AFRICA

(No more White Saviours)

wifwolf: Valentine’s day is boring. Instead, let’s celebrate...

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:06:26 -0500

wifwolf:

Valentine’s day is boring. Instead, let’s celebrate the anniversary of Native Hawaiians killing the fuck outta douchebag English explorer Captain James Cook, on February 14, 1779.

anti-colonialism and indigenous resistance 8ever.

crackerhell: jcoleknowsbest: littleangrytiger: katniss-everbea...

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:03:34 -0500

crackerhell:

jcoleknowsbest:

littleangrytiger:

katniss-everbeans:

Now THAT’S an ndn burn! #lol #ndn #nativeamerican

kikiiiiii now watch some white person get upset about this!!!!

ahahslfjkdslfjksdlf y’all got told

non-violence isn't about being nice

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:47:47 -0500

josiahd:

It’s about setting up situations so that the bad guys will be forced to either do the right thing or be openly and undeniably violent.

And then when the bad guys are openly violent, it makes it possible to point out the violent nature of their everyday behavior.

It’s not about being gently persuasive. It’s about provoking people in ways that provide clarity.

bad-dominicana: Dra. Evangelina Rodriguez this is the person...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 06:23:27 -0500

bad-dominicana:

Dra. Evangelina Rodriguez

this is the person dominicans remember only as an “ugly, crazy black woman”, if at all…. who happened to fight her whole life for the rights of poor women, especially black ones. who grew up poor and became the first dominican woman MD, was a fierce activist against trujillos regime, introduced intersectionality and problackness to dominican feminism, wrote several books on poor womens
empowerment, opened the first maternal clinic, introduced sterilization techniques that brought
down infant mortality and birth complication rates, gave free milk to poor mothers and children, and free
medical services and birth control to poor women and even prostitutes which is still taboo. but for all of her efforts she paid a steep price. she was a black woman and so, deemed trash, either way.

she struggled w antiblackness to where no one recognized her whole lifes work, and was treated like shit, like a pariah the entire time she was alive, and then erased from our
history….

….and while folks still weep over the rich white mirabal sisters martyrdom by trujillo, who together aint do 1/100th of what evangelina did by herself,
evangelina died from trauma from bein tortured by trujillo.

she’d be the true martyr of the era and a dominican national hero, if justice were served, but dominicans are still too racist and classist for that.

DARKJEZ: Because I'm Fucking Done With The People Behind The Stalking & Fetishizing Porn Blogs

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:17:54 -0500

DARKJEZ: Because I'm Fucking Done With The People Behind The Stalking & Fetishizing Porn Blogs:

nuestrahermana:

Since I got disgusted and fed up with the fact that people behind the porn blogs who keep following me & other latina’s are sending sexually harassing messages and doing stalker behavior by going through archives, liking any post with us or latinas in general in them and…

Photo

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:59:53 -0500

queennubian: blackandmissing: #BAMBNF Alert Family Reaching...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:58:06 -0500

queennubian:

blackandmissing:

#BAMBNF Alert Family Reaching our for OUR HELP - SHARE!! #Oregon #Cali #Washington 15-year-old Bedria Williams missing since 1/11/13 SHARE SHARE SHARE!!! Her sister writes:

Hello,

I am reaching out to you with a cry for help: My 15 year old sister, Bedria Williams, ran away from home (Creswell, Oregon) on 1/11/13. She was last seen in Sacramento California on 1/19/13.

Here is what little information my family knows:
We believe she traveled to Portland, Oregon on the night of 1/11/13, where she may have made contact with an ex-con. From there, it is clear from a series of phone calls that she somehow made her way to Sacramento, California – My Mother received a restricted phone call from a woman who said she saw Bedria in Michigan, she also said that Bedria was safe but didn’t want to come home. We were able to trace the phone call and found out that it was a Sacramento phone number, the phone call was not made in Michigan. It is clear this woman was lying. My Father called this same Sacramento phone number and they told him that Bedria was with them. While attempting to go to Sacramento to find Bedria, my Dad received a phone call from the same number and was told that he was never going to see his daughter again. The Sacramento Police looked for Bedria at the house where the phone number was registered, but she was not there.
This was on 1/19/2013 and we haven’t heard anything since. There is a very real problem with sex trafficking in Sacramento, and we are extremely worried that she will get caught up in it.
I have contacted all of the news stations in both Portland and Eugene Oregon, as well as the stations in Sacramento. So far I have not been able to get our story aired on any station. I was told that they do not cover stories like Bedria’s because she ran away. 4 days after I rec’d that email that news station aired a story about a 14 year old boy who ran away from home, he just happened to be white.
I don’t know what else to do besides ask for your help in getting her name and face out there for everyone to see. I fear that we may never see Bedria again. Is there anything you can do to help my sister Bedria, and my family?

Thank you for any help that you can provide,
Cori Williams

Bedria’s description:
Name: Bedria Williams
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 124lbs
Age: 15
Missing since: 1/11/13
From: Creswell, Oregon
*The Sacramento Police department will confirm that she is in danger, here is their contact information:
Sacramento Dispatch Unit: (916) 264-5471
Sacramento Detective Unit: (916) 808-0560

Here is the Facebook page I created for her:
www.facebook.com/missingbedriawilliams
And a few more sights featuring her information:
http://lostnmissing.org/missing/bedria-williams-january-11-2013-sacramento-ca/
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=532351190118553
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=479638032072711&set=a.334294289940420.68660.222558184447365&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=532351190118553

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST

Here’s What Martin Luther King Had to Say About Reverse Racism

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:04:57 -0500

Here’s What Martin Luther King Had to Say About Reverse Racism:

hamburgerjack:

thestoutorialist:

“When millions of people have been cheated for centuries, restitution is a costly process. Inferior education, poor housing, unemployment, inadequate healthcare — each is a bitter component of the oppression that has been our heritage. Each will require billions of dollars to correct. Justice so long deferred has accumulated interest and its cost to society will be substantial in financial as well as human terms. This fact has not been fully grasped, because most of the gains of the past decade were obtained at bargain rates. The desegregation of public facilities cost nothing; neither did the election and appointment of a few black public officials.” —MLK

This is part of a longer article from an article about MLK did not have time for “reverse racism.” The article is from the web magazine Dominion of New York

You’ll never see people talking about this.

racialicious: Parks and Recreations’ Aziz Ansari shuts down a...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:27:40 -0500

racialicious:

Parks and Recreations’ Aziz Ansari shuts down a microaggression on the Golden Globes’ red carpet.

(H/t yayponies)

blackgirlsquee: luckythinks91: bojangle-bandito: mexicanprince...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:33:33 -0500

blackgirlsquee:

luckythinks91:

bojangle-bandito:

mexicanprincessbrienne:

contentkiller:

terrasigillata:

contentkiller:

terrasigillata:

wheelin-thesky:

You nominated this for an award

Congrats

(disclaimer: I have said and done some extremely ignorant and offensive things in my past, but you LEARN FROM those mistakes and realize that you’re wrong. When you’re in the public eye and known by millions you don’t pull shit like this. lol @ people who praise her for being so ‘intelligent’)

i am so disgusted right now I can’t even verbalize it. believe me when I say that in Toronto and surrounding areas, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka and their actions are certainly not a joke nor will they ever will be. fuck this stupid person. fuck her.

…just when I couldn’t be even more disgusted! I remember the Bernardo and Homolka case..and to fucking joke about that? She can miss me with that shit. Fuck. Her.

not to mention the fucking shitty bottom photo which i missed the first time i reblogged this because i got so violently angry about her joking about that case omfg… i met Debbie Mahaffy (Leslie Mahaffy’s mother) when she came to talk at my school and I just… THIS IS NOT A FUCKING JOKE. How can you call yourself a feminist when you’re JOKING ABOUT THE RAPE AND MURDER OF YOUNG WOMEN?

She’s only a feminist when it benefits her somehow. Other than that? Everything seems to be fair fucking game. smh

#racist ass motherfuckers #fuck Lena Dunham and her faux feminism #you guys chose this reprehensible sack of shit #lena dunham is pretty much a sack of expired potato salad

Let me reiterate that this waste of air is being celebrated by idiot fauxmenists all aver the U.S. Also: I always hated Mindy Kaling. Listen to her standup and watch her show - she’s a terrible person. Neither deserve success or happiness.

You have got to be kidding me

Tumblr finds some celeb you like (Mindy K) and shows you a gif of her shooting a cat in the face.

wow what in the actual fuck mindy kaling? and this dunham asswipe needs to find a rock to hide under.

jhameia: fancybidet: peckishmoon: strawberreli: eldritchjoy: ...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:00:13 -0500

jhameia:

fancybidet:

peckishmoon:

strawberreli:

eldritchjoy:

ktshy:

lotus-eater:

taherehmafi:

the evolution of the SHATTER ME shoes! i made these using a pair of old boots, lots of broken mirrors, and some pretty intense adhesive.

thanks to ransom riggs for being my always amazing photographer!

Dang, these are so cool.

I would like some shiny boots please.

these boots are wondrous

wow. this is amazing.

excuse me while i go break my mirror…

these are so cool taherehmafi, you look amazing in them

BREATHTAKING!!!!!

BEST IDEA OR BEST IDEA?????

holy crap waaaant

howtobeterrell: x Awards

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:56:26 -0500

howtobeterrell:

x

Awards

nuestrahermana: mujeristaxicana: My mother is the most...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:34:09 -0500

nuestrahermana:

mujeristaxicana:

My mother is the most precious thing I have in my life. Maria Arreola, my loving mother, risked her life in (YEAR SHE LEFT MEXICO) when she left my abusive father and migrated to the U.S. seeking safety for her children and herself.

Last night, Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE), trespassed into to my home without a warrant and apprehended my mother. My brother, who was next door at a friends house, was also handcuffed and taken by ICE.

I can’t believe I am living this nightmare. I need your help! I cannot begin to imagine what my life would be without my mother. Right now your voice is the only thing that can help keep my family together.

We have to end this now. Help us keep this family together.

Thank you,

Erika Andiola

sign petition at:

http://act.presente.org/sign/erika/?akid=754.379711.cSIg1J&rd=1&t=1

Please signal boost this everyone.

taqwarabhi: TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PSA...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:31:17 -0500

taqwarabhi:

TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN PSA (VISIBLE INJURY TO FEMALE SURVIVORS FACE)

i Wanted to post something during the holidays, as partners, namely women who are already experiencing the cycle of violence will be subject to increased abuse due to the nature of the holiday season forcing us to be in closer quarters for extended periods of time with those that inflict suffering.

It is important to remember that the power and control dynamics of abusers will play off of societal constructions of the “Holidays” being a time for setting aside “differences,” in other words silencing victims/survivors for the sake of “a good time.” The holiday season is another tool for an abuser to drag the survivor/victim into the cycle of violence as “family first” imagery is projected everywhere.

There is the use of gifting and “resolutions” to play on a survivors/victims hope that the abuse will cease, and that there is resolve somewhere in the future.

Despite these hopes, time and time again we are reminded that abusers manipulate the human instinct to trust, to not believe that someone can wish harm upon us. The reality is there are people whose sense of self, worth, strength, person-hood depends on the destruction of us. This holiday season, do not lose track of what you are worth…. for more information, get in touch with your local crisis centres, rape crisis centre, VAW shelters etc.
If you live in the Metro Toronto Area:

Services for Assaulted Women and Children: http://www.211toronto.ca/fs_abv.jsp
Toronto Rape Crisis Centre: http://www.trccmwar.ca/
Assaulted Women’s Helpline: http://www.awhl.org/
Shelters for Assaulted Women/Children in Metro Toronto Area: http://www.211toronto.ca/Gatekeeper?WebAppId=fht&RequestedSubmitAction=SearchResults&searchType=featured&searchAZSubject=organization&searchValue=eng_04&startIndex=1&sortBy=name&logSearch=true
Crisis line for Indigenous Women: http://www.talk4healing.com/

….the abuser will never be the one to make the first step to ending violence….doing that would mean they lose the power that keeps them a step above, psychologically and physically…

“The guarantee of safety in a battering relationship can never be based upon a promise from the perpetrator, no matter how heartfelt. Rather, it must be based upon the self-protective capability of the victim. Until the victim has developed a detailed and realistic contingency plan and has demonstrated her ability to carry it out, she remains in danger of repeated abuse.” - Judith Herman.

Arabhi delivering hard but necessary truths.

been sitting with the devastating news of her death.

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 18:51:23 -0500

and i feel for her loved ones in this time of grief…heavy hearted and angry - losing another woman to the intense misogyny and patriarchy that is an international problem - not just in south asia (that kipling-south-asia of the submissive, exotic woman, the effeminate yet overbearing-woman-beating man).

livid that it took such a violent act to happen to a middle class girl in the metropolitan city of delhi before the public galvanised around the issue of sexual violence. the caste, class and religious markers tied to this are so much more stark given how many other women in india are subjected to this type of violence and are faced with silence at best, collusion/participation at worst, particularly when when rape is committed by security forces (ie. the military or police). it also brings into view the public’s silence/approval/support for the state-sanctioned use of rape by india in other countries including in kashmir where indian security forces have raped and disappeared women with impunity for decades. many members of the indian peacekeeping forces were also charged with rape during their time in sri lanka. there has been none of the outpouring for any of these women that we are seeing today…all because they don’t fit the paradigm of the woman “worthy” of this kind of grief, support, and righteous anger.

and the calls for death and torture of the perpetrators? it has my teeth set on edge…don’t get me wrong - there needs to be justice. but if we were to sentence all sexual assault perpetrators to death, we’d be executing our partners, fathers, brothers, uncles, family friends, coworkers, teachers etc etc EN MASSE because stats show, the majority of perpetrators of sexual violence are known to victims/survivors before they act.

but none of y’all want to talk about that.

its easier to continue your pompous, macho shows of “protecting” women with calls for death and torture rather than addressing the real issue - you. you as men who do not question the rape culture into which you are steeped. the culture that tells you to get pissed off when you’re bested in anything by a woman. the culture that tells you you’re a whole person while she’s just a pussy and ass on two legs with nothing between her ears nor in her soul. the culture that tells you to tell women how, when and where they should behave. the culture that tells you “its ok, she was asking for it” (and then lets you get away with using that as justification for your in/actions). the culture that tells you that its inevitable/allowable/perfectly OK for particular bodies, such as those belonging to women and trans folks, to be subjected to sexual violence and that its OK for you to deliver that violence. the culture that tells you not to talk about the sexual abuse you may have been subjected to because you’d be less of a man if you did.

rape and death are logical endpoints to a system that rewards men for objectifying/dehumanising other people (in this case, women). you want to make sure this never happens again? take a good long look at yourself and the men/boys around you. over 90% of sexual violence perpetrators are male. think critically about the messages you give to each other and then pass to the world about masculinity and power. think critically about how you perceive and interact with women. reflect, learn and CHANGE. none of this is going to stop otherwise.

thisisnotpinoy: The Mindy Project | 1x06 <3

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 02:55:38 -0500

thisisnotpinoy:

The Mindy Project | 1x06

<3

idlenomore: By Aaron Paquette

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 02:53:59 -0500

idlenomore:

By Aaron Paquette